Bad grades in 1st year

[nvalley]

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Ive been doing poorly so far in pharmacy school. My first semester GPA was the lowest it was in ages, like when I didnt care about school at all.

Has anyone went from like a 2.2 or 2.3 GPA to like a 3.0+? If so, please give tips... im desperate, and its not like I dont study. I do. I dont know anymore... any tips please.

 

[codep1nk]

Ive been doing poorly so far in pharmacy school. My first semester GPA was the lowest it was in ages, like when I didnt care about school at all.

Has anyone went from like a 2.2 or 2.3 GPA to like a 3.0+? If so, please give tips... im desperate, and its not like I dont study. I do. I dont know anymore... any tips please.

Have you figured out what type of learner you are?
Visual, read/write, aural (auditory), tactile, etc?

 

[NormalSaline]

I know nothing about how you learn or study obviously, but

The majority of people who I see who study alot and then don't do well, they are memorizing words on slides and paper, and really arent thinking "what does this look like in real life"

I had a friend that was studying this way, and I encouraged her to take notes in full sentences, instead of just trying to correlate a few words you jotted down, writing in full sentences makes you understand the idea enough to verbalize it.

And I listen to my lecture recordings when I'm cooking/working out/showering...any time I dont need my brain to do what im doing, I'm re listening to lecture audio until i can practically recite it...may be too boring/tedious for some, but it works for me.

 

[Allure]

Even now, I still don't know what type of learner I am. I've tried just about everything and sometimes it gets really frustrating. The key is to keep up with it and don't get too far behind. Here is a new technique that I've been trying. After you are done going through the notes and you feel you kind of know it. Cover your notes. Write the drugs on the right hand side and everything you know about them on the left hand side. You will find that most of the time, you can't really recall much. I've found that this helps me remember things longer. Also, you can form a study group. It helps when you have someone else quizzing you.

If you're a P1, you still have a lot of time to catch up. Just try to get As and Bs and you should be fine.

 

[MindOverMatter]

Chin up, you're passing!

 

[codep1nk]

It took me quite a long time to realize that I could have been much more efficient with my time if I had just known where to focus my energy.

It may help you to try these out:
http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

However...be warned that you may not know what works for you YET. Or you may benefit from all styles. Don't give up and good luck.

 

[WestTXisGr8]

I don't know if this is different than the links posted above, but here is a learning style survey we were required to complete in undergrad. It helped me a lot.

http://www.metamath.com/multiple/multiple_choice_questions.html

It will tell you what learning style you have.

 

[Vitamin K]

Yes. In fact, I went from a 2.2 my SECOND year to a 3.2 my fourth year. I'll be graduating with honors this spring. I had a 3.8 after pre-pharmacy, if that gives you an idea of how far I fell. I'm not sure what your situation is, but mine was due to a death in the family. Here's what I did to bounce back:

1) I made the decision that pharmacy school was a priority to me. (I had checked out a bit mentally my 2nd year)

2) I stopped settling for "C's get degrees" and started wanting to learn and understand the material

3) I changed my study habits. Sometimes trying something different is what you really need.

4) I got a job. I know it seems counterproductive, but at the time I was getting those grades, I hadn't had an internship yet. I started working as many hours as I could (still having enough time to study of course) and made sure that I took off the few days before big exams. Working is what helped me more than anything, because it gave me experience and helped me see how things REALLY are in pharmacy. Seeing prescriptions helps you get familiar with dosing, gives you a visual example of the topics you're going over in class, and helps remind you of the reasons that you love pharmacy. If I hadn't gotten a job the summer after my 2nd year, I don't think I'd still be in pharmacy school.

 

[Sparda29]

Concentrate 100% of your time on the classes that have high amounts of credits, and harder. For example, this semester I am completely concentrating on Pathology and Therapeutics. I study a little for Pharmaceutics, and I haven't touched the Ethics or Epidemiology/Biostatistics books at all.